Love is Never Easy
by Zero-kun1969
Summary: (Dean x Cassie) When Dean enters his motel room after a long week of work, its easy for him to fall asleep, though it's even harder for him to stay asleep. A dream involving his ex-girlfriend Cassie Robinson raises a cause for alarm. Unwilling to throw away his fear and feelings for the charming reporter he gets his brother Sam to go with and help save the love of his life.
1. Chapter 1

An Unusual Premonition

Dark storm clouds floated across the sky, covering the moon and sending inky blackness across the Earth. Silence filled the air as a lone car traveled down the road. Dean Winchester was driving to a motel after dropping his brother off at home after dealing with a ghoul. Each day there was a new threat, but there was nothing he and his brother, Sam, couldn't handle. It was the first time they had returned to where their job began ever since the incident with Jessica Moore.

The day had been tiring, like most, but there was nothing better than getting to take a nice shower and relax in a warm bed. Perhaps he'd even stop at a store on the way home and get himself a treat. The lack of money in his pocket, however, dissuaded his decision to pick up a pie and instead he focused on the drive to the motel. There was only one other thing he could think of that could beat some downtime from the job, which was so rarely granted. The likely hood of that occurring, however, were slim to none.

Moonlight peeked out from the clouds and Dean pulled into the parking lot. He strolled into the lobby and rung the bell for the receptionist. A beautiful brunette came out from the back office. A smile spread across his face as she stood at the counter. "Hello I would like to rent a room for one night," he said trying to sound as husky and attractive as he could. Her fingers danced across the keyboard of the computer.

"Will you be paying in cash or by card?" said Penelope, as was stated by her name tag. Dean pulled out one of his many credit cards and handed it to her. She swiped the card through a reader and handed it back to him along with a room key. "I hope you enjoy your stay Mr. Aframian." He dropped both into his jacket pocket and leaned against the counter.

"Maybe you could sneak up my room later tonight and it'd make my stay here even better," he said giving a charming grin. Unfortunately, she just laughed and went back into the office. Defeated he headed up to his room and threw his stuff onto the bed. The room was lackluster, but it was enough. After a hot shower, he dropped himself onto the bed and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes sleep overtook him.

* * *

Streetlights lit up the empty roads and for the most part, everything seemed abandoned. No lights shone in the buildings around him, no cars were driving nor even occupying the sides of the road available to park. Dean stood in the middle of a very familiar place. It was her hometown. Cassie Robinson. Clouds swirled overhead giving the town a more ominous feel to it than it already had. From the darkness came an ear piercing scream that put him on edge.

Sprinting off in the direction the scream came from, he was consumed by darkness. Streetlights glowed only every few blocks. It seemed the rest were broken. Something was wrong and he couldn't afford to waste any time. Eventually, Dean emerged into a park. Trees outlined the grounds and a fountain was spurting out water, at least that's what he thought it was. It was too dark to see anything and by the strong stench of iron in the air, it could very well have been blood. What he saw in front of the fountain caused his heart to skip a beat and speed up at the same time.

There she was, Cassie, lying unconscious on the ground. Her clothes were shredded and heavily stained with what looked to be more blood and possibly some mud. It was impossible to tell her injuries if she had any. Dean fell to the ground in despair assuming the worst. He had loved her, more than any other woman. He regretted the way they had left things and if he had a chance he would change things.

Out of the shadows, a figure covered in a dark cloak moved in front of her. The only noticeable characteristics were the eyes, which almost seemed to glow from under the hood, or perhaps they did glow. A deep chuckle came from the figure as it picked up Cassie by the hair. Her face contorted in pain and she let out a whimper.

Rage ripped it's way through Dean as he stood and charged the figure. His footsteps slammed against the sidewalk as he grew closer and closer to whatever it was that held her. It made no indication of moving, instead choosing to stand its ground. Before he could ram into the figure, the landscape fell away and he plummeted into pure darkness, all the while hearing her screams. Screams of pain, of fear, of sadness. All the screams echoed the same word to him. Dean.

* * *

Dean bolted upright. Cold sweat ran down his back and he could feel himself shaking. It was a dream, just a dream. Wasn't it. Her screams, the laughter, the smell of blood; everything felt so real to him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make sense of the anxiety he felt. If it was just a dream then why was he so concerned for her.

Unable to calm his nerves, he sat up knowing he wouldn't be going back to bed anytime soon. He grabbed the tv remote that sat on the nightstand next to him and flipped on the tv. Normally there was nothing good on tv but something on would help his nerves even it was something irritating like paid programming. Surfing through channels he came to a major news network. They were broadcasting from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He fumbled with the remote managing to turn up the volume.

A reporter stood on the sidewalk in front of a park. It had trees surrounding the perimeter and a fountain set in the middle…just like in his dream. Police tape covered the area behind her and red and blue lights danced across the ground. "Last night another person went missing by the name of Dalton Sheppard," explained the reporter. "When he didn't come home last night his fiancee grew worried and called the police. His car was found in the parking lot of the park behind me." Deans anxiety grew worse as the reporter continued. "Similar to the other disappearances of Marvin Herring, Mallory Holt, Rodney Cantu, and Nichole Schaefer; Dalton Sheppard marks the fifth person missing in a string of mystery that all lead to the same place. Dennis Scivally park." That was the last straw.

Dean switched the TV off and threw on some clothes. In his rush, he nearly forgot to put on pants. He gathered up his tools and rushed out of the room. He locked it up and went to the lobby leaving the key on the counter. Running back out to the car he threw everything in the truck and got behind the wheel. He switched the radio station so he could continue to listen to the news report and took off to Sam's.

* * *

Dean must have banged on the door a couple dozen times before his brother finally opened the door. His knuckles were bright red and even bleeding a small bit. Before Sam could question him, he pushed his way into the house and sat down in a chair. "Well come right in then," mumbled Sam. Clearly, he was not amused and by the fact that they were both exhausted when they got to bed, he was even angrier than he seemed. "Well then what was so important that you needed to break my door in?" he asked sarcastically.

"No time to talk, just get dressed, get your weapons, and get in the car," said Dean. He tapped his foot anxious. He could feel his brother staring at him.

"No, I'm not going anywhere until you explain things," said Sam leaning against the door frame. He wasn't going to make this easy, but if Dean wanted to get him somewhere he knew he'd have to explain everything to him. Sam waited patiently for him to start talking. Dean sighed and began.

"I had a dream about Cassie." Sam sighed and he knew that this was already off to a bad start. "There was something, some monster who had attacked her, he injured her badly." Sam walked over and sat down with his brother. "I know it's stupid, but I need to make sure she's okay." Same set his hand on Dean's shoulder as comfort.

"She's fine, it was just a dream," explained Sam. Dean grew angrier and stood up.

"It's not just a dream! It means something! Something is going to happen to her!" Dean shouted. Normally he was the cool-headed one, but when it came to Cass he couldn't control himself.

"This is coming from the guy that doesn't even believe that my dreams come true and they end up happening," said Sam in an irritated tone. Dean could feel his body shaking with rage.

"That's not all there is to this," he said through gritted teeth. Sam stared at him slightly intrigued. "When I woke up I flipped on the news, there have been a series of disappearances in Cape Girardeau." To prove his point he turned the tv to the same channel to what he had been watching earlier. Sam sat up and watched the report for a few moments before standing.

"You'd better be right about this," he said as he walked into his bedroom. Dean sighed in relief. He collapsed into the chair behind him feeling the majority of the anxiety disappear. A few minutes later Sam came back out looking a bit more awake. "Let's get going then, it's a long drive to Missouri."

Dean hopped up and left the house followed by Sam. Dean slid into the car while Sam locked up the house. The car rumbled to life as Sam got into the passenger side and buckled up. "You owe me breakfast," mumbled Sam as he rested his head against the back of the seat. Dean pulled away from the curb and headed out to the city. Hopefully they weren't too late to help her and hopefully, Sam didn't order an expensive breakfast.

* * *

 **(Note: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time. When I started this, I was doing this for a friend and I didn't know anything about Supernatural. I had thought about giving up on the story and deleting it until people started asking me to update it and said they liked it even if it was only a few people. Since then I have started watching Supernatural and I have more of an idea of what I'm doing. Instead of continuing the chapters as well I decided to return and fix the chapters now that I know more about it though I've only watched a few episodes. I will work hard to get the chapters done and I refuse to give up on this story. I'm having fun writing these and I hope you will enjoy the story.)**


	2. Chapter 2

Old Wounds Cut Deep

The sun rose over the trees as they drove into town. Sam's snoring and the coffee were the only things keeping Dean going as the lack of sleep was weighing down on him. Sam had offered to drive for a while so Dean could rest, but he was too stubborn to agree. Leftover fast food containers sat in the back of the car. Luckily, Sam hadn't asked for such a pricey breakfast, but they had fast food for each meal on the way there.

He squinted as the light entered the car. Dean flipped down the visor so the light wasn't as harsh. Dean could hear Sam move his head as his hair rubbed against the seat. He raised the cup of caffeine to his lips and took a big gulp. It had already gone cold hours ago but was still working which was more than Dean asked for. The last drops slid into his mouth and he tossed the cup out the window.

Cape Girardeau came alive as they drove through. Buildings rose up on either side of the vehicle and people started leaving their homes for work. It was a nice town with plenty to offer. The perfect place to raise a family. Dean shook his head wondering why the thought even crossed his mind. The sun hit Sam's face rousing him from his slumber. "Mmmm where are we?" he said drowsily. Though they didn't have any more coffee, Dean handed him a soda hoping the caffeine inside it would help wake him up. Even though the thought of drinking soda in the morning wasn't a welcome idea, Sam still gulped down some of the soda.

"We just got into the city," explained Dean staring ahead. Sunlight warmed up the car causing Sam to roll down his window. It was to be a warm summer day. Unfortunately, they had both packed nothing but clothes meant for late fall and winter. "A good morning welcome, isn't it?" joked Dean as his brother was blinded by the sunlight.

Coming up on the right of them was a small cafe. The smell of fresh bakery wafted into the car causing both of their stomachs to stir. As much as Dean wanted to get to Cassie's, they couldn't fight off evil on an empty stomach. Furthermore, they were due a reprieve from the confines of the car, and the smell was too enticing to ignore. Sam could read his brother's mind and quickly pulled out one of their many credit cards. Dean pulled over to the side of the road and Sam leaped out from the hot vehicle. Dean dispensed some change into the parking meter and the two headed into the building.

The smell was more powerful inside and caused them both to start salivating. Everything from pastries to donuts to muffins and pies filled the menu and there were plenty of drinks to choose from. They waited in line for their turn. Once at the counter they were greeted by a young girl, most likely still in high school. Her name tag said, Brooke. "What would you two like, we have a special drink just for couples." The two of them sighed. It was unbelievable how many people thought that they were a couple.

"We're not a couple, we're brothers," said Sam just as exhausted of this occurrence as his brother. Her face went red with embarrassment and she was quick to apologize to the two. They both ordered coffee then Sam ordered a pastry and muffin while Dean ordered an apple pie. "Go figure," mumbled Sam. The two picked a table to wait for their order. "So where should we look for her when we're done?"

Dean thought for a moment before answering. "Well she's dedicated to her work more than anyone I know so it's possible she's at her work, but it's equally as possible that she's at home resting since she tends to work late nights," said Dean. Their food was brought to the table and Sam started nibbling at his muffin while Dean dug into the pie.

"We should try her home first and then head to her work," said Sam. He agreed. The two continued to enjoy their meal while Dean grew more agitated. There was a possibility that she wasn't at either and instead out chasing a story. If they didn't find her, he didn't know what he'd do. The only thing he could do was pray.

* * *

After a few minutes, Dean pulled his car into her driveway. It was a small, one family home perfect for her tastes. Dean was relieved to see her car in the driveway indicating that she was both home and safe. The duo climbed out of the car and walked up onto the porch. "How come I have a feeling that she won't believe us?" said Sam in a sour mood. He was still moody from the being woken up the other night and the car ride all but made it worse. On top of that, the car was an uncomfortable place to sit and sleep for extended periods of time. Dean feared that he was right but knocked on the door all the same.

They were met with a pair of brown eyes staring at them. Curly dark brown hair stuck out every which way indicating that she had just woke up, which probably wouldn't help them much. "Sam! Dean! What a surprise!" At least she wasn't irritated with them. She leaned against the doorframe. It had been a while since they saw her. After they last saw her, she readily believed in their job. Hopefully, she'd be more willing to believe them. His heart pounded in his chest when he saw her.

"We have something important to discuss with you, may we come in?" asked Sam. She smiled and let them both in. Sam nudged Dean in the ribs to get him going. He had forgotten how to move his feet for a moment in the happiness to see that she was alright. They stepped into the house and went to the living room. Cassie followed them and took a seat in an armchair. It was worn down with age, but clearly, it was her favorite. No doubt, it's where she stayed when she got home from work.

Dean took a deep breath. "A few nights ago I had a dream where you were in danger, something had attacked you." Cassie chuckled. It didn't faze him since Sam had a similar disbelief.

"Well as you can see I'm fine you two, you don't have to worry about me." She said standing back up. They both looked at each other worried which caused her to sit back down.

Sam continued from where Dean left off. "The place where you were was the Dennis Scivally park, the same place where all those disappearances lead to." Her eyes widened and she seemed a bit concerned.

"You think that those disappearances could be something to do with your work?" she asked worriedly. Sam nodded and she leaned back in her chair thinking. They waited for her to think about it before she gave her reply. "Even if those incidents do have something to do with your work, there's a good chance that I will be fine so you don't need to worry about me."

Dean opened his mouth to protest, but the look she gave him stopped him in his tracks instantly. She was too stubborn to believe in them. She stood up and walked to the door opening it for them. "If you'll excuse me, I do need to get ready for work now, but I'll be happy to help you investigate the disappearances." The two walked out of the door and Dean turned back to her.

"Can you at least be more cautious, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." Cass's eyes widened at his sincerity and, to his relief, nodded in agreement. She shut the door and Dean turned to Sam who was already leaning against the car.

"So we can go home now right?" asked Sam. Dean glared at him and he smiled knowing that there was no chance of them leaving with the disappearances still an issue. Sam slid into the car and Dean did the same. "We can keep an eye on her while following up on the disappearances," said Sam as Dean turned the key in the ignition.

"Before we do anything, we need to get a room and some rest." Sam couldn't agree more. The drive had been strenuous on both of them and if they were tired, their performance would suck. He headed off to the closest motel. A soft bed filled his mind. The first thing that night they would begin their investigation.


	3. Chapter 3

As the sun hit its peak, Cassie sat in her office scouring through any information she could find on the people that had disappeared. Sunlight filtered in the dim office and you could see dust floating around in the golden beams of sunshine. The news droned on the tv as she scrolled through her computer looking to find anything at all that could give any indication of what could have happened to the 5 people and where they went.

For the time being, the only clear information she had was that there was no blood left behind at the site. Additionally, there were no traces of the people walking anywhere from the park. Shops surrounded the area and for the most part, they all had security cameras all of which had been looked at by police and contained no information beyond the people pulling up at the park, getting out, and walking towards the middle of the area.

Interestingly, when the people climbed out of their vehicles, they seemed like they were in a trance almost. All of them had left the doors open and walked almost like they were sleepwalking. They had walked slowly, their feet seemed almost unwilling to work. Each footstep landed heavy and caused them to almost stumble. They swayed with each step until they made it out of view.

Cassie had managed to get a look at the videos, unlike many other news stations. She had in fact known all the people that disappeared, albeit some of them not as well as others. Her office as well as she specifically had been inspected before being ruled out.

Marvin Herring had been her informant. No one but her, Marvin, and now the police knew about this. Mallory Holt had been her best friend growing up, however, they grew apart once they went into college. Rodney Cantu was her ex-boyfriend before Dean. Nichole was a worker at her favorite cafe and Dalton Sheppard was the owner of the house she's renting.

In truth, she wasn't doing as well as she told the brothers. She was shaken up and a bit scared. She hadn't known Nichole, Dalton, and Marvin well but they were all kind people and didn't deserve what had happened to them, whatever it was. She was determined to help figure out what happened to them and bring closure to herself and their families.

A knock on her door snapped her out of her thoughts and made her jump a little. It was a heavy bang and the person was clearly not shy about using force to make themselves known. "Come in," she called switching off the tv. A tall man in a black hoodie entered. He had the hood up which cast shadows over his face so she couldn't make out any distinguishable features. All in all, he made her feel uneasy.

Standing up cautiously she made her way over to the man and held out her hand to him. "I'm Cassie, Cassie Robinson," she said. The man made no move to take her hand and instead chose to stay quiet. Cassie lowered her arm and asked, "What's your name." Once again she received no answer.

A cold breeze blew through the room causing Cassie to wrap her arms around herself and rub them in an attempt to warm up. True it was summer and they had air conditioning in the building, but it had never grown that cold before even when she left her door open. In a deep, creamy tone, the man finally spoke up. "If you want to know more about what happened to the others, I suggest going to where they all last ended up."

Cassie's eyes widened and her stomach did a flip. This man might actually know what happened to them. She spun around to search her desk for a notebook and pen. Papers littered her desk, some falling off as she searched for the two items. Finally finding the items, she spun back around to find that she was alone in her office once again.

Her stomach dropped and she collapsed into a chair. "What does he mean? Go to where they last ended up? We don't know where they ended up." She closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the chair. She was at the very least relieved that the man was gone. Pushing herself up out of her chair, she decided to go get some coffee and return.

Returning to work an hour later she had herself work on other articles. Hours passed until the sunset. Leaning back in her chair, Cassie picked up her notes on the disappearances and scanned through them. Then something caught her eye. Dennis Scivally Park. That's the last place that any of them were at. That's where the man was telling her to go.

She stood up excitedly throwing her notes and camera into her purse and headed downstairs to her car. Cassie reached out to unlock her car but paused before putting the key in the lock. Fear filled her body and even caused her to tremble a little. "What am I doing?" She pulled her hand away from the car and leaned against it instead. "It's dark out and I'm going to the place where everyone else has disappeared."

"Maybe I should call Dean and Sam before going there by myself, there's safety in numbers after all," she mumbled to herself pulling out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts until landing on Dean's number and hit dial. She held the phone up to her ear and waited. The phone dialed 3 times before someone picked up.

"Hello? Who's this?" said Dean. A smile spread across her face and she instantly calmed down. There was just something about him that made her feel all better.

"Hey, um it's Cass something happened," she said. She could hear Dean get Sam up and tell him there's a problem. "Dean you need to calm down, I'm not in any danger."

"Oh, well what happened," Dean asked more calm but still concerned. She took a deep breath before recounting everything with the man. "So essentially you want to go check the park out?" Cassie smiled to herself happy that Dean understood. "No way. You're not going anywhere, go back inside and stay safe," said Dean as she heard a door open.

"Are you kidding! I have to go, he told ME about it," she exclaimed. Cassie began to pace back and forth getting more and more irritated by the fact that Dean said no.

"Cassie remember my dream? I don't want that to happen to you!" he said raising his voice.

Cassie rolled her eyes and shouted into the phone, "I'm going and you're not gonna stop me!" She then pulled out her keys and unlocked the door climbing in. As soon as she took a seat her eyes glazed over and she slowly, mechanically closed the door.

"Cassie! Cassie! Dammit, answer me…..please!" Dean pleaded over the phone. Cassie, under the influence of whatever was controlling her, dropped the phone on the ground and started up the car taking off towards the park.

"Cassie! Cassie! Dammit, answer me…..please!" Sam watched Dean as he was in near tears from Cassie not responding. Dean heard the rumble of an engine and grunted in frustration before ending the call. "We need to go now!" said Dean as he headed out the door of their motel room. Sam grabbed his coat and followed Dean into his car.

"What happened to her?" questioned Sam. Dean turned the key in the ignition and the car started up.

"I have no clue, but I know she didn't listen to me about going to the park," said Dean tearing away from his parking spot.

"You just have to hit on the difficult ones don't you?" joked Sam chuckling a small bit. Dean didn't say anything instead choosing to focus on the road. Dean's mind was racing and Sam's joking wasn't helping, though he couldn't deny that it was true. Cassie was strong-willed and courageous. She was willing to do anything for her work.

But there was more to her than that. She was kind-hearted, funny, sexy….no not sexy….well yes she was sexy, but she was even more gorgeous than anything and….oh god he just hoped that she was okay. He needed to find her and fast. Cars honked at him as he sped through a red light.

Sam looked through the back window at the chaos they just caused before turning back to his brother. "I know we're in a rush, but it won't do her or us any good if we get pulled over and taken to jail for breaking the law." Dean sighed and slowed his speed down to the proper speed limit.

"I'm sorry I'm just so worried about her," said Dean stopping at the next red light. Sam rested his hand on his brother's shoulder to comfort him.

"I know, we're almost there, just hang on," said Sam in a soft voice. Dean relaxed his shoulders a small bit and nodded in agreement. Eventually, they arrived at the park and pulled up next to Cassie's car. They quickly bolted out of the vehicle and check hers in turn. The driver side door was hanging open and she' was nowhere to be seen around the vehicle.

The two took off down the path to the middle of the park. "We couldn't be too far behind her, you could still feel the heat coming off the vehicle," said Dean. The trees begin to open to the middle of the park and they skidded to a halt seeing Cassie walking towards a hooded figure.

Dean shook with rage. This was not going to turn out like his dream. It was not going to end in him losing Cassie. He was going to save her and all the others from whatever that thing was. Standing his ground he opened his mouth and shouted "CASSIE!"


End file.
